Hepatic Artery Thrombosis: A Rare Complication of Microwave Ablation in Hepatocelluar Carcinoma

Amreet K Aujla; Leon D Averbukh; Guneetinder Gill; Colin Swales

doi:10.7759/cureus.6811

Hepatic Artery Thrombosis: A Rare Complication of Microwave Ablation in Hepatocelluar Carcinoma

Cureus. 2020 Jan 29;12(1):e6811. doi: 10.7759/cureus.6811.

Authors

Amreet K Aujla¹, Leon D Averbukh¹, Guneetinder Gill², Colin Swales³

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, USA.
² Internal Medicine, Baba Farid University of Health and Sciences, Dayanand Medical Hospital and College, Ludhiana, IND.
³ Gastroenterology, University of Connecticut, Hartford, USA.

Abstract

Microwave ablation (MWA) has become a popular therapeutic technique in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) alongside cryoablation, radiofrequency ablation, and liver resection/transplantation in patients with limited tumor burden. Generally well tolerated, and not as invasive as surgery, the technique results in low mortality and complication rates. We report the exceedingly rare complication of hepatic artery thrombosis with subsequent fatal ischemia of the left hepatic lobe in a 64-year-old female with cirrhosis and HCC who underwent MWA.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma; microwave ablation; portal vein thrombosis.

Publication types

Case Reports